ATLANTA — Despite an 11th-hour appeal from Pope Francis, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected a clemency bid by Kelly Gissendaner, the mother of three scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening for her role in her husband's 1997 murder.

"In reaching its decision, the Board thoroughly reviewed all information and documents pertaining to the case, including the latest information presented by Gissendaner's representatives," a release sent from board chairman Terry Barnard said. No other explanation of the decision was given.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that the pope, back in Rome after a six-day visit to the United States, sent the letter through a representative, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

"While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendander has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you, in consideration of the reasons that have been expressed to your board, to commute the sentence to one that would better express both justice and mercy," Vigano wrote.

Gissendaner's execution is set for 7 p.m. Eastern Tuesday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. She is the only woman on death row in Georgia.

At a Tuesday morning hearing, Gissendaner's attorneys presented arguments against her execution to Georgia's parole board, saying the death penalty is disproportionate to the crime since Gissendaner was not the "trigger person" in her husband's death. Georgia has not executed a so-called "non-trigger person" since 1976. The attorneys also presented numerous accounts from fellow prisoners testifying about Gissendaner's positive influence in their lives and in the prison system.

The parole board is the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia. Two of Gissendaner's three children asked the board earlier this year to spare their mother's life. The parole board's decision to hold a new meeting came after her oldest child, Brandon, asked to address the board, said Susan Casey, an attorney for Gissendaner.

Gissendaner came close to execution twice this year. The first time, a February winter storm prevented travel. The second attempt in March was aborted when the lethal drug, pentobarbital, appeared cloudy. Officials first called a pharmacist, and then called off the execution "out of an abundance of caution."

The parole board, the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia, said in a news release that its members have thoroughly reviewed a second request from Gissendaner's lawyers to reconsider a February decision denying clemency.

On Monday, a federal judge denied a request to stay Gissandaner's execution. Gissendaner's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash to reconsider an earlier lawsuit declaring lethal injection as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. They argued in part that there's a substantial risk of serious harm if the execution proceeds as planned because officials still can't explain what went wrong with the execution drug in March.

Later Monday, Gissendaner's attorneys appealed Thrash's ruling denying the stay to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Owen, who took a plea deal and testified against Gissendaner, is serving life in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2022.

After the problem with the execution drug surfaced, Georgia corrections officials suspended executions until an analysis could be done.

In mid-April they released lab reports, a sworn statement from a pharmacological expert hired by the state and a short video showing a syringe of clear liquid with chunks of a white solid floating in the solution. Corrections officials said the expert concluded the chunks probably formed because the solution was shipped and stored at a temperature that was too low.

In a June court filing, the department revealed that it did its own test on a new batch of pentobarbital made by the same compounding pharmacist who made the drug meant for Gissendaner's execution.

The Department of Corrections' chief of special projects stored one sample in a refrigerator at 34 degrees and one in a room where the temperature fluctuated between 67 degrees and 72 degrees for 11 days, from March 24 to April 3. No changes were recorded in either sample. Both started and ended as clear liquid with no solids.

Without knowing what caused the earlier problem, Gissendaner attorney Gerald King said there's no reason to think the drug won't precipitate again Tuesday. The state plans to use the same compounding pharmacist and the same execution protocol and there's no evidence additional safeguards have been put in place, King said.

The state has done everything it can to ensure that the problem won't recur, and state officials would not proceed if a problem was detected, argued Sabrina Graham, a lawyer for the state.

Gissendaner's lawyers have also released statements from high-profile figures, including former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr, arguing that Gissendaner shouldn't be executed because her death sentence is disproportionate since Owen, who actually did the killing, got a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in seven years.

In a statement released through the Gwinnett County district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, Douglas Gissendaner's family said he is the victim and that Kelly Gissendaner planned the murder and received a just punishment from a jury of her peers. On Monday, Doug Gissenaner's family issued a statement urging people to focus on the victim in the hours leading up to the execution.

A rally in support of Kelly Gissendaner was held Monday evening at the state capitol in downtown Atlanta. Dozens of supporters turned out in hopes of influencing the state parole board ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

Gissendaner's last meal is scheduled to be served to her at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Unlike the rather large last meal she requested before her March execution date, she has asked for chips and cheese dip, fajita nachos and a diet frosted lemonade.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Owen, who took a plea deal and testified against Gissendaner, is serving life in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2022.

ATLANTA — Despite an 11th-hour appeal from Pope Francis, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected a clemency bid by Kelly Gissendaner, the mother of three scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening for her role in her husband's 1997 murder.

"In reaching its decision, the Board thoroughly reviewed all information and documents pertaining to the case, including the latest information presented by Gissendaner's representatives," a release sent from board chairman Terry Barnard said. No other explanation of the decision was given.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that the pope, back in Rome after a six-day visit to the United States, sent the letter through a representative, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

"While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendander has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you, in consideration of the reasons that have been expressed to your board, to commute the sentence to one that would better express both justice and mercy," Vigano wrote.

Gissendaner's execution is set for 7 p.m. Eastern Tuesday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. She is the only woman on death row in Georgia.

At a Tuesday morning hearing, Gissendaner's attorneys presented arguments against her execution to Georgia's parole board, saying the death penalty is disproportionate to the crime since Gissendaner was not the "trigger person" in her husband's death. Georgia has not executed a so-called "non-trigger person" since 1976. The attorneys also presented numerous accounts from fellow prisoners testifying about Gissendaner's positive influence in their lives and in the prison system.

The parole board is the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia. Two of Gissendaner's three children asked the board earlier this year to spare their mother's life. The parole board's decision to hold a new meeting came after her oldest child, Brandon, asked to address the board, said Susan Casey, an attorney for Gissendaner.

Gissendaner came close to execution twice this year. The first time, a February winter storm prevented travel. The second attempt in March was aborted when the lethal drug, pentobarbital, appeared cloudy. Officials first called a pharmacist, and then called off the execution "out of an abundance of caution."

The parole board, the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia, said in a news release that its members have thoroughly reviewed a second request from Gissendaner's lawyers to reconsider a February decision denying clemency.

On Monday, a federal judge denied a request to stay Gissandaner's execution. Gissendaner's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash to reconsider an earlier lawsuit declaring lethal injection as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. They argued in part that there's a substantial risk of serious harm if the execution proceeds as planned because officials still can't explain what went wrong with the execution drug in March.

Later Monday, Gissendaner's attorneys appealed Thrash's ruling denying the stay to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Owen, who took a plea deal and testified against Gissendaner, is serving life in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2022.

After the problem with the execution drug surfaced, Georgia corrections officials suspended executions until an analysis could be done.

In mid-April they released lab reports, a sworn statement from a pharmacological expert hired by the state and a short video showing a syringe of clear liquid with chunks of a white solid floating in the solution. Corrections officials said the expert concluded the chunks probably formed because the solution was shipped and stored at a temperature that was too low.

In a June court filing, the department revealed that it did its own test on a new batch of pentobarbital made by the same compounding pharmacist who made the drug meant for Gissendaner's execution.

The Department of Corrections' chief of special projects stored one sample in a refrigerator at 34 degrees and one in a room where the temperature fluctuated between 67 degrees and 72 degrees for 11 days, from March 24 to April 3. No changes were recorded in either sample. Both started and ended as clear liquid with no solids.

Without knowing what caused the earlier problem, Gissendaner attorney Gerald King said there's no reason to think the drug won't precipitate again Tuesday. The state plans to use the same compounding pharmacist and the same execution protocol and there's no evidence additional safeguards have been put in place, King said.

The state has done everything it can to ensure that the problem won't recur, and state officials would not proceed if a problem was detected, argued Sabrina Graham, a lawyer for the state.

Gissendaner's lawyers have also released statements from high-profile figures, including former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr, arguing that Gissendaner shouldn't be executed because her death sentence is disproportionate since Owen, who actually did the killing, got a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in seven years.

In a statement released through the Gwinnett County district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, Douglas Gissendaner's family said he is the victim and that Kelly Gissendaner planned the murder and received a just punishment from a jury of her peers. On Monday, Doug Gissenaner's family issued a statement urging people to focus on the victim in the hours leading up to the execution.

A rally in support of Kelly Gissendaner was held Monday evening at the state capitol in downtown Atlanta. Dozens of supporters turned out in hopes of influencing the state parole board ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

Gissendaner's last meal is scheduled to be served to her at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Unlike the rather large last meal she requested before her March execution date, she has asked for chips and cheese dip, fajita nachos and a diet frosted lemonade.

ATLANTA — Despite an 11th-hour appeal from Pope Francis, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected a clemency bid by Kelly Gissendaner, the mother of three scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening for her role in her husband's 1997 murder.

"In reaching its decision, the Board thoroughly reviewed all information and documents pertaining to the case, including the latest information presented by Gissendaner's representatives," a release sent from board chairman Terry Barnard said. No other explanation of the decision was given.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that the pope, back in Rome after a six-day visit to the United States, sent the letter through a representative, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

"While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendander has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you, in consideration of the reasons that have been expressed to your board, to commute the sentence to one that would better express both justice and mercy," Vigano wrote.

Gissendaner's execution is set for 7 p.m. Eastern Tuesday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. She is the only woman on death row in Georgia.

At a Tuesday morning hearing, Gissendaner's attorneys presented arguments against her execution to Georgia's parole board, saying the death penalty is disproportionate to the crime since Gissendaner was not the "trigger person" in her husband's death. Georgia has not executed a so-called "non-trigger person" since 1976. The attorneys also presented numerous accounts from fellow prisoners testifying about Gissendaner's positive influence in their lives and in the prison system.

The parole board is the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia. Two of Gissendaner's three children asked the board earlier this year to spare their mother's life. The parole board's decision to hold a new meeting came after her oldest child, Brandon, asked to address the board, said Susan Casey, an attorney for Gissendaner.

Gissendaner came close to execution twice this year. The first time, a February winter storm prevented travel. The second attempt in March was aborted when the lethal drug, pentobarbital, appeared cloudy. Officials first called a pharmacist, and then called off the execution "out of an abundance of caution."

The parole board, the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia, said in a news release that its members have thoroughly reviewed a second request from Gissendaner's lawyers to reconsider a February decision denying clemency.

On Monday, a federal judge denied a request to stay Gissandaner's execution. Gissendaner's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash to reconsider an earlier lawsuit declaring lethal injection as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. They argued in part that there's a substantial risk of serious harm if the execution proceeds as planned because officials still can't explain what went wrong with the execution drug in March.

Later Monday, Gissendaner's attorneys appealed Thrash's ruling denying the stay to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Owen, who took a plea deal and testified against Gissendaner, is serving life in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2022.

After the problem with the execution drug surfaced, Georgia corrections officials suspended executions until an analysis could be done.

In mid-April they released lab reports, a sworn statement from a pharmacological expert hired by the state and a short video showing a syringe of clear liquid with chunks of a white solid floating in the solution. Corrections officials said the expert concluded the chunks probably formed because the solution was shipped and stored at a temperature that was too low.

In a June court filing, the department revealed that it did its own test on a new batch of pentobarbital made by the same compounding pharmacist who made the drug meant for Gissendaner's execution.

The Department of Corrections' chief of special projects stored one sample in a refrigerator at 34 degrees and one in a room where the temperature fluctuated between 67 degrees and 72 degrees for 11 days, from March 24 to April 3. No changes were recorded in either sample. Both started and ended as clear liquid with no solids.

Without knowing what caused the earlier problem, Gissendaner attorney Gerald King said there's no reason to think the drug won't precipitate again Tuesday. The state plans to use the same compounding pharmacist and the same execution protocol and there's no evidence additional safeguards have been put in place, King said.

The state has done everything it can to ensure that the problem won't recur, and state officials would not proceed if a problem was detected, argued Sabrina Graham, a lawyer for the state.

Gissendaner's lawyers have also released statements from high-profile figures, including former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr, arguing that Gissendaner shouldn't be executed because her death sentence is disproportionate since Owen, who actually did the killing, got a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in seven years.

In a statement released through the Gwinnett County district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, Douglas Gissendaner's family said he is the victim and that Kelly Gissendaner planned the murder and received a just punishment from a jury of her peers. On Monday, Doug Gissenaner's family issued a statement urging people to focus on the victim in the hours leading up to the execution.

A rally in support of Kelly Gissendaner was held Monday evening at the state capitol in downtown Atlanta. Dozens of supporters turned out in hopes of influencing the state parole board ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

Gissendaner's last meal is scheduled to be served to her at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Unlike the rather large last meal she requested before her March execution date, she has asked for chips and cheese dip, fajita nachos and a diet frosted lemonade.

There's an often ignored counter intuitive response to punish and/or set example by killing someone as a means of showing others murder is bad. Too often "Life in Prison" does not mean life but 20 years till they are set free, small consolation for grieving loved ones.

ATLANTA — Despite an 11th-hour appeal from Pope Francis, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected a clemency bid by Kelly Gissendaner, the mother of three scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening for her role in her husband's 1997 murder.

"In reaching its decision, the Board thoroughly reviewed all information and documents pertaining to the case, including the latest information presented by Gissendaner's representatives," a release sent from board chairman Terry Barnard said. No other explanation of the decision was given.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that the pope, back in Rome after a six-day visit to the United States, sent the letter through a representative, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

"While not wishing to minimize the gravity of the crime for which Ms. Gissendander has been convicted, and while sympathizing with the victims, I nonetheless implore you, in consideration of the reasons that have been expressed to your board, to commute the sentence to one that would better express both justice and mercy," Vigano wrote.

Gissendaner's execution is set for 7 p.m. Eastern Tuesday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. She is the only woman on death row in Georgia.

At a Tuesday morning hearing, Gissendaner's attorneys presented arguments against her execution to Georgia's parole board, saying the death penalty is disproportionate to the crime since Gissendaner was not the "trigger person" in her husband's death. Georgia has not executed a so-called "non-trigger person" since 1976. The attorneys also presented numerous accounts from fellow prisoners testifying about Gissendaner's positive influence in their lives and in the prison system.

The parole board is the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia. Two of Gissendaner's three children asked the board earlier this year to spare their mother's life. The parole board's decision to hold a new meeting came after her oldest child, Brandon, asked to address the board, said Susan Casey, an attorney for Gissendaner.

Gissendaner came close to execution twice this year. The first time, a February winter storm prevented travel. The second attempt in March was aborted when the lethal drug, pentobarbital, appeared cloudy. Officials first called a pharmacist, and then called off the execution "out of an abundance of caution."

The parole board, the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia, said in a news release that its members have thoroughly reviewed a second request from Gissendaner's lawyers to reconsider a February decision denying clemency.

On Monday, a federal judge denied a request to stay Gissandaner's execution. Gissendaner's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash to reconsider an earlier lawsuit declaring lethal injection as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. They argued in part that there's a substantial risk of serious harm if the execution proceeds as planned because officials still can't explain what went wrong with the execution drug in March.

Later Monday, Gissendaner's attorneys appealed Thrash's ruling denying the stay to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Owen, who took a plea deal and testified against Gissendaner, is serving life in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2022.

After the problem with the execution drug surfaced, Georgia corrections officials suspended executions until an analysis could be done.

In mid-April they released lab reports, a sworn statement from a pharmacological expert hired by the state and a short video showing a syringe of clear liquid with chunks of a white solid floating in the solution. Corrections officials said the expert concluded the chunks probably formed because the solution was shipped and stored at a temperature that was too low.

In a June court filing, the department revealed that it did its own test on a new batch of pentobarbital made by the same compounding pharmacist who made the drug meant for Gissendaner's execution.

The Department of Corrections' chief of special projects stored one sample in a refrigerator at 34 degrees and one in a room where the temperature fluctuated between 67 degrees and 72 degrees for 11 days, from March 24 to April 3. No changes were recorded in either sample. Both started and ended as clear liquid with no solids.

Without knowing what caused the earlier problem, Gissendaner attorney Gerald King said there's no reason to think the drug won't precipitate again Tuesday. The state plans to use the same compounding pharmacist and the same execution protocol and there's no evidence additional safeguards have been put in place, King said.

The state has done everything it can to ensure that the problem won't recur, and state officials would not proceed if a problem was detected, argued Sabrina Graham, a lawyer for the state.

Gissendaner's lawyers have also released statements from high-profile figures, including former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr, arguing that Gissendaner shouldn't be executed because her death sentence is disproportionate since Owen, who actually did the killing, got a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in seven years.

In a statement released through the Gwinnett County district attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, Douglas Gissendaner's family said he is the victim and that Kelly Gissendaner planned the murder and received a just punishment from a jury of her peers. On Monday, Doug Gissenaner's family issued a statement urging people to focus on the victim in the hours leading up to the execution.

A rally in support of Kelly Gissendaner was held Monday evening at the state capitol in downtown Atlanta. Dozens of supporters turned out in hopes of influencing the state parole board ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

Gissendaner's last meal is scheduled to be served to her at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Unlike the rather large last meal she requested before her March execution date, she has asked for chips and cheese dip, fajita nachos and a diet frosted lemonade.

The pope is so concerned about this skank that he's reaching out from that Vatican to try to save her?? I wonder if he's even thought about the Cuban dissidents that were choked, beaten, and dragged away by the Castro's secret police when he was there?

All the poor and homeless that were bussed far out of town, are only now showing back up after their long walk back. But that O.K. with Comrade Pope because Castro said they were all happy.